Ironman 70.3 Austin - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Faired quite well by reminding myself to keep my own race in mind and not to take actions based on anyone else around me. Jostled a bit in the swim, but nothing major. Had a neighbor about 3/4 of the way through who would not leave my side and we kept slamming into one another. But it was OK, and breathing was not a problem. The worst part of the swim: someone accidentally grabbed my ankle chip and I had to stop, tread water, and attempt to secure it before moving on. Lost about 1 minute, but was worth it, as I could feel the chip sliding around my ankle. This is part of the sport.

Very little. Stayed relaxed and on-plan with the swim. Will need to look at a wetsuit though.

T1 is not my strong suit. For a 1st HIM, rather than rushing through T1 and missing something vital, I took cues from those around me and carefully transitioned. Went by my plan, and downed my pre-ride banana en route to the bike start.

Practice, practice, practice. There is probably 2 minutes waiting for me here once I rehearse my T1.

Again, kept working my plan, which was to conserve, conserve, conserve. At my first HIM, I did not want to burn out. I felt a few stretches around 20-30 miles where I cranked it up, but kept warning myself to not overspend the energy and burn out the legs. Steady...just get around the bike without making any big mistakes.

Also, kept eating and eating. Felt like I had my own buffet out there, but it worked. My last endurance triathlon found me out of gas, and I had to plan to repeat that misery.

Drank 4 bottles of liquid: 2 water and 2 Gatorade. That also worked, although that chattery surface left me badly in need of a bio break for the final 15 miles, but it was all good.

My bike leaves plenty of room for improvement. Ready to spend some time on the road getting faster. But for this race, I successfully stuck to my plan.

T2 was fairly strong. Again, I adhered to my plan of going slowly, and walked my bike the relatively short distance to the rack. Got myself changed, and swapped socks too, and headed out to run.

T2 is better than T1. Felt good, and served as a quick break for the bike before the run.

Took a gel at start, and then again starting Lap 3. I had planned for 3 gels, but the GU factory that was building in my stomach cautioned me against taking too much gel. I had the energy, and I did not want a GI issue. The cooler temps worked in my favor, and the primary crosswind made this reasonable. Loved running back to the swim course, which served as a reminder of the incredible distance I really did cover.

Stuck to my plan, so not too much different. Might have tried to find another port-a-jon, as I had to wait about 2 minutes just for bio reasons. But then again, it was really necessary. If anything, I might have backed down slightly in Lap 1 to leave me just a little extra in Lap 2 and Lap 3.

Lots of walking and stretching. But mostly reveling in the arena with my friends and family with an EXTREMELY well-earned medal around my neck.


Overall, I felt 6 hours would be a TREMENDOUS day for me, and 6:30 was more realistic. 6:05 turned out fairly good. Cannot worry too much about faster performance, as my plan worked for me. I just need more bike time, and more experience.


Great race, with excellent organization and no hiccups whatsoever. Fantastic fan support and atmosphere both at the start, the transitions and the finish. Great shirt, visor and medal. And the run course actually encourages lots of fans to collect at Miles 1, 4, 9 and 13.

If you can deal with a chattery bike ride and a challenging hilly run, this is the place to feel like a true athlete, even in a first Half Ironman. But if it was easy, everyone would do it.